THE International Chamber of Commerce, Young Arbitrators Forum (ICC YAF), Nigeria Chapter has said that arbitration institutions are now adopting rules for Emergency Arbitration, which makes provision for parties to seek reliefs from arbitral tribunals.

According to the Coordinator of ICC YAF Nigeria and Managing Partner, Rosberg Legal Practitioners & Arbitrators, Mr. Greg Nwakogo, such reliefs hitherto could only be sought from regular courts.

He made the comment recently in a seminar organised by the group in Lagos with the theme: ‘Emergency Arbitrator and Emergency Reliefs’. The free seminar which was co-sponsored by Emedith Solicitors and Rosberg Legal Practitioners & Arbitrators was followed by a social event.

Speakers at the event considered how well those rules work, how effective the outcomes are when measures are granted and how responsive the institutions are when a party claims emergency.

Other speakers at the seminar were Mr. Tunde Ogunseitan, Counsel at ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris, Ms. Oluwatosin Lewis, Principal, Lewis Alexander Legal, Lagos and Mr. Tunde Busari SAN, Partner, Akinwunmi & Busari, Lagos. The seminar took the form of a panel discussion with Mr. Ogunseitan giving the perspective of an arbitral institution.

Ms. Lewis discussed the topic from the point of view of a party representative while Mr. Busari SAN discussed the topic from the perspective of an arbitrator. The seminar was very expository and was followed by a cocktail reception which featured spoken word poetry and musical renditions. Participants also received free ICC publications and materials.

ICC YAF is an initiative of the ICC International Court of Arbitration aimed at providing a forum for young professionals (40 years and under) to interact and learn from experienced practitioners about issues of interest in the field of arbitration and to educate and expose members to ICC dispute resolution services and other dispute resolution services available in their region, amongst other objectives.